If you're into gerberas, you gotta be at Raker

Just received a Festival Mini Gerbera along with news about the Raker Gerbera Trial. It's Raker's second annual fall trial. Six breeders (Sakata, Syngenta, Global Flowers, Kieft, Northern Innovators and HMA Plants) have provided their top genetics for side-by-side comparisons of almost 200 varieties.

This kind of trial allows you to take a step back and reevaluate genetics. I was surprised there wasn't more of this at Pack Trials when I attended in 2007. It's a great service to you.

So here's the information on the trials -- Oct 20-24, 9am to 5pm each day in Litchfield, Mich. And here's a link to Raker's trial site. And the logo's pretty cool, too.

Hines Horticulture Files For Bankruptcy

Hines Horticulture has filed a press release stating that the operation has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. There's been some comments going on over at my previous post on Hines, including a letter to employees posted by an anonymous source.

Another commenter says:

"Hines won't be the last. There are many growers in our industry on the brink. I am aware of many smaller players going under and leaving suppliers in the red."

Check out www.greenhousegrower.com for further details through the day.

The new GreenhouseGrower.com is live!

It's finally here - the redesigned GreenhouseGrower.com. We've added a lot of new features that we're excited about and hope will help you find and share content from the magazine. Check out the home page. When news happens, this is where you'll find it.

First off, full content! Our online database is now complete - check out our Top 100 Growers report for 2008 here. And our Medal Of Excellence awards here.

A other few features that I'm really psyched about are comments and the share function. You can now comment on every article we post, even anonymously, if you'd like. Like this one on how to use social media.

And share - the new site makes it easy to post articles you're interested in to sites like Facebook and Digg. I'm a Facebook junkie as of late, so this is pretty exciting for me.

If you get a second, check out the new site, and keep checking in. Lots more features are on the way.

Raising prices or cutting back on poinsettia production?

A few interesting points in this article on increased pricing or less supply of points because of increased heating prices:

Casertano will cut back from 60,000 poinsettias to zero this year. "The energy costs being what they are, we felt it was a wise move," John Casertano is quoted as saying.

If supply is down, won't demand be up? Is there another crop, maybe other than roses on Valentine's Day, that is more a must for a holiday?

Articles like this will reinforce in the consumer's mind why prices must be raised.

Blogger Of The Week: Steppin' Out With The Stepables Lady

Steppin' Out With The Stepables Lady is showing the industry how blogging is done. Frances Hopkins of Stepables is the blogger and is the perfect personality for blogging -- fun, interesting and upbeat. She tells us about her philosophy on plants ("I took some drawing classes in college. I was decent, but horticulture came calling and I guess I turned in the charcoal for a pair of pruning shears") and shares a little about herself ("I wanted to train wild animals too…but got bit by a lion".) And photos!

I just heard in a lecture on managment the other day that the number one factor that clouds employees' feelings about a job isn't the work, but their co-workers. I think the same can be said about the supplier/customer relationship. If your customers feel like they know and like you, they'll stay your customers. A blog is the perfect way to keep that relationship strong.

See Steppin' Out With The Stepables Lady at http://www.stepables.com/blogs/fran/

Bell Nursery in the Wall Street Journal

A story in the Wall Street Journal on the contract system at Bell Nursery and some of the growers in the system.

And interesting quote:

The Raleys still farm corn and hay and raise a few Angus cattle, but these days the flowers seem to hold the most promise for a regular payday.

Good to hear. The Raleys used to grow tobacco, but that's a crop that doesn't pay like it used to.

National Floriculture Forum - Good times

There's always a lot to learn when touring with a group of professors. Thanks to this year's National Floriculture Forum in Raleigh, N.C., I am now aware I have a serious Moon Pie addiction.

I also learned that Tony Avent is a pretty cool guy. He’s president of Plant Delights, the mail order perennials breeder/grower. The company T-shirt says it all (see photo). Tony is a fun guy. His sense of humor shines through his catalog. The company's niche is unique plants – lots of trillium, especially. The grower’s gardens are situated around a house, so visitors during the company’s open house can see what the great varieties would look like at home.

Tony told us sales of agaves have skyrocketed with the drought going on in the Southeast. Plant Delights is keeping up with those consumer trends by digging up and replanting its garden beds at least every ten years.

There are some really cool plants to see here. Click here to check out photos.

Nice Broquet

I was really into the man-friendly mixed containers the NFL Network used to gussy up its SuperBowl XLII set on Sunday (see video of it, and Plaxico Burress, here)

This probably caught my eye even more because I noticed these containers right after hearing about Banana Florist. The florist’s arrangements are lovely, but what sets the company apart from others is their attitude. Using humor that seriously reaches out to grab readers, I’m sure this new company will give others in its area a run for their money. C’mon try to beat this description of a foliage dish garden:

So, Pat from Accounting bailed you out of a jam. Naturally, you'd like to show your gratitude. Let's steer clear of red roses, unless you want a Disclosure Form from HR. (And lots of unexpected attention from Pat.) The Unmixed Signal safely conveys your appreciation for co-workers and other folks you know professionally.

And the Broquet is the solution for sending a man flowers. Quirky humor is definitely in. Even more than that, they incorporate links to pop culture Web sites like YouTube and Gawker, connecting themselves to the world young people inhabit.

Ask the professor: What’s new, Doc?

Travel season has kicked into gear around here, and my first trip of the year will be to the National Floriculture Forum at NC State. It’s a great event where hort professors get together and talk about what’s new and exciting.

The theme of this year’s event is Reaching Out – and that includes reaching out to growers through trade magazines. I’ll be presenting along with a few other editors on what the trade press is looking for from professors. In the end, we’re looking for what you’re looking for, so here’s your chance.

You have the ear of university. What kind of information do you want to hear about from university research? Fertilizers, irrigation, pest management, lighting, growth regulation? Please leave me a note by clicking comment below. Anonymous comments welcome.

Photo by hyku on Flickr.

Where do the candidates stand on immigration?

I just came across this article on where the presidential candidates stand on immigration. It is a difficult and complicated issue, but maybe one of these candidates will finally do something about immigration.

Based on this article and in a nutshell, Edwards, Obama, Clinton, Giuliani and McCain are for some type of guestworker program (with conditions) or even legalization. Huckabee, Paul and Romney are against legalization.

Urban Outfitters' Terrain is on the move

Heard this week that Urban Outfitters' Terrain is making its move, agreeing to buy the Philadelphia-based J. Franklin Styer Nurseries chain.

I'm wondering what current suppliers to the Styer's chain think about the move. I think it's a good sign for the new UO venture. Based on the purchase, it seems the Terrain model will be garden center and gift retailer, not just a store with plants as an afterthought.

Industry collaborates to bring youngsters into horticulture

Twenty-seven green industry associations have announced they're working together on an industry career Web site aimed at high school students. The Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association (MNLA) and the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) initiated the project, and the American Society for Horticultural Science (AHS) and the American Nursery & Landscape Association (ANLA) are sponsors. And if you're part of an industry association, it's likely involved.

The group is putting together focus groups and surveys now to see what will work with the younger audience. My advice is make sure the site is compatible with cell phones. I think it's great, though, that such a big group of organizations isn't just sitting around, lamenting the problems of the industry. They're tackling one of the big ones. Nice job!

The site isn't live yet, but I'll post a link when it is.

Pajaro Valley Sold

There is always a ton of good information in SAF's E-Briefs. The one I received yesterday included the news that Pajaro Valley Greenhouses, Watsonville, Calif., has been sold to Rocket Farms based in Salinas, Calif.

It's interesting to us because Pajaro Valley is No. 79 on our Top 100 Growers list. So we'll be getting to know Rocket Farms a bit better now. The news is interesting, as there is so much going on with our list.

In addition to Pajaro Valley, Powell Plant Farm (No. 18), Bell Nursery (No. 20), Baucom's Nursery (No. 62t), Boven's (No. 71) and Ulery Greenhouse (No. 97) have all made major moves in the last year. The 2008 version of our Top 100 list will appear in the May issue of Greenhouse Grower.

Chili Plants Heat Up Chilly Winter Holidays

The blog is back up after some bad code shut me down.

Good job, Paul Bosland, professor of horticulture and director of the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, for getting some attention from AP News. The wire service reported on chili plants' potential as a Christmas plant.

Photographed here and with the Yahoo!News story is Jeff Anderson of Sunland Nursery Co.

Photo credit: AP

What I Learned This Issue Of Greenhouse Grower

- Who our Grower Of The Year is. But I’m not telling you. You’ll have to wait till the issue hits your mailbox or the Web.

- There are young people in the industry! Gen X and Gen Y are not completely uninterested. Congratulations to Nirmal Shah and Kris and Stacy Van De Streek on their ventures, taking over Boven’s Quality Plants.

- European research has shown several Ecke poinsettia varieties to be “energy efficient.”

- A lot happened this year. Take a look back in our 2007 Year In Review.

- Our special insert, Steps Toward Sustainability, took me to school. Scientific Certification Systems, the organization behind VeriFlora certification, is conducting meetings to gage support for the Sustainable Agriculture Practice Draft National Standard for Trial Use.

- Michigan State has tips for non-chemical height control on its Web site (second story on the page)

- Earthstone’s GrowStones look like croutons, but replace strip-mined materials like perlite, vermiculite and pumice.

- Garden Bloomers Takao Nursery isn’t shying away from Gen-Y-type marketing, even in their commercial catalogs. Fun to read!

Anna Ball At Texas A&M Distinguished Lecture Series

The Web is awesome. In the last few months, I've sat in on some great Webinars and learned things I never would have otherwise.

Here's an online opportunity for you -- Anna Ball's talk from Texas A&M's Distinguished Lecture Series. You can see and hear her lecture, "Driving Forces Shaping the Future of the Floriculture Industry," here.

UPDATE: Fair warning .... this is going to take you a while to download.

Arson To Blame In California Wildfires?

This is very upsetting if it's true. APNews reports, "Federal agents joined the search for evidence Wednesday in brush-covered Orange County hills where an arsonist is believed to have ignited one of the wildfires devastating Southern California." Read the whole story here.

Severe Drought In Georgia

Just heard from Chris Butts at Charmar Flowers in Athens, Georiga. The garden center/florist is and has been struggling with water issues, and Chris says there is talk of a complete water ban through next spring.

"After 36 years and 3 generations, our family business had to announce last week that will be closing our doors effective at the end of the year," Chris says.

ConserveWaterGeorgia.net put out these FAQs yesterday, tips and dos and don'ts for water use. Here are a few more tips from Chris on water issues:

1. Get involved NOW at your local level. Generally, each municipality has a great deal of latitude with regards to local rules for water use.
   
2. Engage these departments and begin dialogue or else they will dictate to you.
3. Become familiar with all local and state ordinances regarding water usage.Urge your state associations to establish working committees to work with legislators and reach out to other associations who have a critical stake in water use.
   
4. Develop economic impact data on city/county/ regional and state levels. Let your elected officials know that you are a player economically and establish relationships before drought happens.
5. Demand that all drought planning as well as water conservation planning include green industry representatives. Ask for a seat at the table.
   
6. The time to start….. NOW! Don’t wait for a drought to start.

ANLA's Craig Regelbrugge On NPR

I heard this the other morning and it's online now. Craig Regebrugge was interviewed for a story on H2A and labor shortages for farmers. You can hear the story here. He speaks at around 2:45 into the story.

Who Makes Up Your Labor Force?

This is really interesting. The Ohio State University Department of Horticulture and Crop Science conducted a study of 1,548 nursery employees to characterize the labor force. You can find the whole story here, but there are a few bullet points that caught my eye:

• 70 percent of the industry's labor force is Spanish-speaking or hispanic origin and over half are from Mexico.
  
• 22 percent of workers understand English
• Workers with high English proficiency held advanced jobs
• More than 75 percent are earning between $6 and $10 per hour, while the average hourly earning of non-supervisory workers during 2007 is $17.16

The states surveyed included Ohio, Michigan, Delaware, Tennessee, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Arizona and Rhode Island. Getting this data really required a lot of trust, so thumbs up to OSU Extension specialist Hannah Mathers, who led the study. This is important information and I'm not sure anyone else has been able to gather it until this study.